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You should have a clear goal in mind before adopting a new marketing tactic or technology, according to Adam Kleinberg, CEO of Traction. "If you don't know what it is you're trying to solve, the likelihood that an emerging digital media tactic will solve it falls from slim to none," he writes. Also, make sure that new tactics will allow you to reach your target audience, that you have the resources available to support them and that you can execute well, he writes.

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Employees will quickly lose motivation if management wastes their time with unnecessary meetings or fails to communicate a clear vision for the company, writes Lolly Daskal, CEO of Lead From Within. "Show people you value them by showing them you value their time," Daskal writes.

Your time is one of the most precious gifts you can give -- but only if you're using it properly, writes S. Chris Edmonds. Be both intentional and realistic about your time commitments, and keep refining your time-management skills, Edmonds advises. "If we slow down for a few minutes and analyze how we spend our time, we can refine our choices to serve ourselves and others better," he writes.

A Jan. 12 incident when a Southwest Airlines plane landed at the wrong airport isn't the only mega-mistake. Look back on some other large-scale mishaps, and find out how fliers can respond if they are involved in a mega-mistake.

Many sales representatives spend a large percentage of their time on administrative activities, which can damage profitability, writes Javier Aldrete, senior director of product management at Zilliant. The technology used by your business should add value to the sales process rather than simply suck up reps' time, Aldrete writes. "[S]ales tools that provide actionable, predictive guidance enable sales teams to spend more time talking to the right customers with the largest opportunities for wallet-share growth," he writes.

Social-media campaigns are valuable tools, but maintaining a social presence can easily start to suck up too much of your time, says BNI.com founder Ivan Misner. The key to efficient use of social media is to set boundaries and to have reasonable expectations, Misner argues. Without such boundaries, "Pretty soon something weird happens in the space-time continuum and you look up and you've lost two hours," he says.